


Away Above the Chimney Tops

by dahlstrom



Series: The Fiddler & the Maestro [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 07:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3641172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahlstrom/pseuds/dahlstrom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-epilogue story in The Fiddler and the Maestro 'verse. This story contains spoilers for the original fic, obviously. Non-spoilery summary - Kurt and Blaine go on an outing :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Away Above the Chimney Tops

“Why do you look so nervous?” Kurt asked softly, reaching for one of Blaine’s hands and rubbing the back of it soothingly with his thumb. “Of the two of us, I’m the one who should be nervous. After that lovely vertigo I got last time.” 

Blaine attempted a smile, but it came out crooked and almost pained. “And yet you still agreed to do this again. I love that.” 

“It’s our anniversary. Of course I agreed to do it.” Well, today was only _one_ of their anniversaries. Their actual anniversary was in early December, and they would be celebrating their second year together in a couple of months. Then there was the anniversary of the first time they’d had sex, which was more of a joke than anything, seeing as it had occurred ten months in actual time and what had felt like years emotionally before they’d gotten their acts together and realized they were completely stupid for each other. And the anniversary they were observing today marked one year to the day of Kurt’s official arrival in Australia (“official” meaning the date he’d ventured outside and joined society; his first two days in the country had been spent in bed with Blaine). They had done the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb together that day too, and Blaine had said it was only fitting that they make it a yearly tradition. 

“You know, I still think you only got dizzy last time because we’d been having sex for two days straight,” Blaine murmured, speaking very quietly so none of the other participants in their group would be able to hear them. They were all newbies to the bridge climb and too preoccupied with hanging on to every word that their guide, Colleen, was saying to pay attention to Kurt and Blaine. Still, Kurt flushed a little and glanced around, and then he gave Blaine’s thigh a quick, light slap. “What?” Blaine protested. “I believe in you, sweetheart. You’ll be just fine today, I know you will. No fainting spells.” 

“I did not _faint,_ ” Kurt hissed, failing miserably at feigning offense. “It’s really high up, okay?” 

“I’m telling you, your legs just gave out, that’s all. Too much time spent on your knees.” 

“You’re gross. Be quiet.” 

Blaine grinned, and leaned in to give him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. Luckily, he’d done it just as Colleen finished her spiel and everyone began to stand, so there was enough movement in the room to cover the sound. Kurt pretended to be affronted and was again quite unsuccessful, an exasperated smile breaking through. “Come on. Didn’t you say you wanted to be in front this time?” 

“ _Yes._ Like being in the front car of a roller coaster.” Kurt had to bite back another smile at that - he still marveled at how quickly and easily Blaine had picked up a rather strong Australian accent; ‘roller coaster’ had come out in pure Aussie English just then. Even after a year, Kurt himself still sounded 100% American. Sometimes he tried to fake it and Blaine would just snort at him, and this was usually followed by Kurt bopping him in the face with a pillow. 

They slipped easily through the other members of their group toward Colleen, and Blaine went directly to her, the two of them speaking quietly together. Kurt frowned slightly, curious, but his attention was diverted by the assistant guide, Brian, coming over to double-check that all of his climbing gear was properly in place. Brian then checked the rest of their group, and by the time he was done, Blaine was back at Kurt’s side, looking a bit flustered under his bright smile. Kurt smiled briefly back at him and asked if Colleen had checked his gear, and Blaine nodded, taking Kurt’s hand and giving it a squeeze as a silent thank you for looking out for him. 

The climb was indeed much easier this second time around. Kurt knew that the harnesses attaching them all to the static line on the bridge were completely safe, and okay, maybe Blaine had a point about Kurt’s lack of proper rest last time affecting him. Today he felt much more secure and calm, and was able to enjoy the gorgeous October weather (springtime in Australia, he still wasn’t used to these flipped seasons) and just take some time to himself to reflect on the last year. 

During his first few weeks in Sydney he’d been much more anxious than he’d let Blaine see, although Blaine had probably known anyway. Integrating himself with the new orchestra had been one of the hardest things Kurt had ever attempted. He’d spent almost nine years with the Oregon Symphony in Portland, having joined while he was in college, and it was the only orchestra he’d ever known. Of course he’d had to go and make his second symphony the most prestigious in the world, what a great and completely stress-free idea. Blaine had been tense too, due to the pressure of his conducting apprenticeship, and they’d both had to lean on each other more than they were really comfortable with for the first month or two, needing each other to stay sane and anchored and not let themselves quit in a fit of tears. Yes, the SSO was incredible, some of the finest musicians on the planet, and it took some time for Kurt to convince himself that he was one of them. He was there for a reason - because he was among the very best. He deserved his chair. 

Once he’d gotten over that, everything began falling into place. His and Blaine’s relationship had become slightly strained during the rough patch, but soon they were settled and blissful, falling more deeply in love every day. That had helped immensely with his overall relaxation into his new life, and he’d begun to make friends in the symphony. In spite of Kurt’s initial haughty declaration that he would make a professional enemy of Lauren, the symphony’s concertmaster, and that he’d have her job in five years’ time, the two of them had become close friends. She reminded him quite a lot of Rachel, only without the arrogance. In Lauren it came across as confidence and self-possession, and those were traits Kurt admired deeply. 

Blaine’s apprenticeship had initially been only one year, but the symphony director was so impressed with him that it had been extended to two, so he and Kurt still had some time before they really needed to be concerned with what he was going to do after it was over. The extension was a great honor, and Blaine was definitely getting noticed throughout Australia, and a few rumblings from Europe as well. Kurt was tied to Sydney, though, so they would have to make decisions when the time came. 

Then again, perhaps those decisions would need to be made sooner than that, if Kurt had his way. 

He shook himself out of his thoughts and took stock of where they were - nearly to the top of the bridge already. This startled him, because it meant he’d been woolgathering for more than an hour. He’d only been half-focused when the group stopped at various points for rest from the climb and to allow Colleen to discuss various points of interest. If Blaine had noticed, he wasn’t saying anything. Kurt reached for his hand now, smiling warmly at him when Blaine looked back over his shoulder. “Love you,” he mouthed, and Blaine mouthed it back, squeezing his hand tightly. God, he so loved that man. 

Ten minutes later, they reached the summit and everyone breathed a collective sigh of mingled relief and awe. The group was allowed to disperse and take in the sights from many different vantage points (and have their pictures taken by Colleen, as climbers weren’t allowed to carry loose objects). Kurt leaned carefully against a railing - not facing the Sydney Opera House, where he spent plenty of time for work and therefore knew quite well what it looked like - and shaded his eyes against the setting sun. “I’m so glad we picked this time of day this time,” he said to Blaine, or at least, he _thought_ he’d spoken to Blaine. When he glanced over, though, Blaine wasn’t at his side. Well, he was, but he wasn’t standing. He was down on one knee, gazing up at Kurt with a rapturous smile. 

“What-” Kurt started, but he cut himself off when Blaine shook his head. This was not happening, there was no way in hell this was happening. Not now, not _here._

“Kurt...” Blaine said, and then took a shaky breath, and oh God, now Kurt knew for sure what was going on. So much for no fainting spells this time. He gripped the railing very tightly with both hands, keeping his eyes locked on Blaine’s face. “Sometimes I still can’t believe you’re here. That you uprooted your entire life - leaving your father, your friends, your symphony - and moved to the other side of the world for a guy.” Blaine scoffed gently, dropping his eyes from Kurt’s for a moment, and Kurt bit his lip to keep from shouting that he was being ridiculous. “I’m so lucky,” Blaine went on, looking up at him again. “I’m the luckiest man alive. I tell myself that every day, every morning when I wake up next to you. And I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life.” 

Kurt was trembling and blinking back tears, and only very dimly aware that the other ten or eleven people in their group had noticed what was happening and were slowly gravitating toward them, hands over their hearts. 

“Fate brought us together. Fate brought me to Portland, to you. And love brought you here. Brought _us_ here. I love you so much - sometimes... sometimes I worry that I love you more than you love me-” 

Kurt shook his head vehemently and clapped a hand over his mouth to hold back a soft cry, forgetting about how badly he was shaking and how desperately he needed to hold onto the railing with both hands in spite of his safety harness. 

“Okay,” Blaine murmured. “Okay.” He took a deep breath, and fuck, this was it. This was it. “I don’t have the ring with me,” he said, with a touch of regret. “Colleen wouldn’t let me bring it up here, the loose objects thing, but it’s down there with the rest of our stuff. It’s in my bag. I want to put it on your finger when we get back down. Will you let me do that?” He paused, appearing ready to wait for Kurt’s answer, then seemed to realize he’d forgotten to ask the real question. “Kurt, will you marry me?” 

Kurt didn’t bother holding back the tears anymore, _couldn’t_ hold them back. A soft sound escaped him, half a sigh and half a shudder of disbelief, and it was echoed on all sides by the coos and ‘aww’s of the rest of their climbing group. Kurt shook his head slowly, mumbling, “I hate you for this. I really hate you.” As he spoke, he reached down to take Blaine’s arm, pulling him up standing. “I _hate_ you,” he said again, his voice breaking on the last word as he flung both arms around Blaine’s neck, drawing him as close as physically possible, clinging to him while the wind whipped around them, 160 feet above Sydney Harbor with nothing but a cable and Blaine’s strong body to keep him there. 

“Hate me, why?” Blaine was holding him close, rubbing his back and obviously in no way deterred by the declaration, thank goodness. 

“Because _I_ was going to propose. I was going to ask you on your birthday!” Kurt sniffled loudly and drew back just enough to look into Blaine’s eyes. “I-I don’t have your ring yet, but there’s a couple that I’m choosing between. I had it all planned out! Ask Lauren, ask her, we’ve been talking for weeks about what piece the orchestra could play in the background, I was going to ask you at rehearsal on your birthday next month and they were going to serenade it and _everything_ and now you’ve just wrecked it all, you complete _ass._ ” 

But Blaine was laughing, cupping Kurt’s face between his hands and laughing like crazy, giddy and beautiful and so very, very perfect, and Kurt could never not laugh when Blaine did. Even as he pressed his lips to Blaine’s in a fierce kiss, they laughed, and they didn’t stop, not as Kurt pulled back again and nodded his ‘yes’ to the proposal, not as the other members of their group clapped and cheered and Colleen discreetly snapped picture after picture of the two of them. They laughed. How could they not when their life was this perfect? 

“And listen,” Blaine said fervently, after everyone had patted their backs and offered congratulations, holding both of Kurt’s hands with his own between their bodies. “When I say ‘marry,’ I really mean _marry._ Not just the civil union we could get here. I’ve done the research, we can go to New York or anywhere in Canada, or one of the countries in Europe that doesn’t have residency restrictions. Wherever you want to do it, wherever you want to go, okay?” 

Kurt nodded, feeling overwhelmed with love for this man, this incredible man, the most amazing person he’d ever met, or would ever meet, he knew. “I’d forgotten about that. It’s a good thing you said something, I was about to invite all of these people to the wedding.” He waved a hand vaguely at their group, who were now giving them privacy but still sneaking glances over at them every now and then. 

“No, I don’t think that would work,” Blaine replied, chuckling, and he brushed a lock of hair from Kurt’s forehead, blown wild from the wind. “Your dad though, and Carole, and Rachel and Finn, and my parents and Cooper and Mike and Tina and-” 

“I don’t even have the ring on yet, Blaine,” Kurt cut in, giving him the teasing smile that was reserved just for him. “Can we at least get that far before we start making out the guest list?” 

Blaine stuck the tip of his tongue out, just as Kurt had known he would, and laughed again when Kurt tried to chase it with his own mouth. “Deal.” 

“And I have to say, I’m not sure if you get cool points or nerd points for proposing up here,” Kurt said, glancing around. He had momentarily forgotten where they were, and that they had another hour’s descent ahead of them before he could get that damn ring. “There must be a proposal every week here.” 

“Hey, I’ve never tried to hide my cheese. You knew about it from the get-go.” 

“Just don’t let it get too smelly or I’ll divorce you.” 

“You would never.” 

No, he would never. Never ever.


End file.
